Core Curriculum
A Caltech undergraduate education requires not just the depth of an option, but also considerable breadth in basic science, humanities, and social science. Caltech's core curriculum prepares students for the interdisciplinary nature of contemporary research in science and technology. This encourages a culture of problem solving, collaboration, and communication while providing valuable experience in many fields of science. Significant study in the humanities and social sciences is an important component of Caltech's core curriculum, giving alumni the ability to navigate the societal, political, and economic factors that influence, and are influenced by, their work.
Oversight of the Core Curriculum
The unity and effectiveness of the undergraduate core is overseen by the Core Curriculum Steering Committee, which has faculty representation from all 6 of Caltech's academic divisions, undergraduate representatives, and ex officio members from the Registrar; Undergraduate Deans' office; Center for Teaching, Learning, & Outreach; Hixon Writing Center; and the Associate Vice President for Campus Climate, Engagement, and Success. The current chair of the Committee is Prof. Paul Asimow.
Core Graduation Requirements
Each cohort of students must satisfy the graduation requirements stated in the Catalog for the year that they began their study at Caltech. The detailed course options and regulations for satisfying the Core Curriculum for students that entered in recent years are linked here:
Recommended schedule for Core courses
The typical schedule for first-year students that allows them to satisfy more Core requirements and move on to any option in the second year is shown in the Catalog. Here's the most current versions:
- 2025: Pending
- 2024: From the '24-'25 Catalog
Essentially what this says is: do most of the Core requirements in your first year. You should finish in your first year at least: Ph 1 abc, Ch 1 ab, Ma 1 abc, two first-year humanities courses, and either a Bi 1 course or Bi 8 & 9. Ch 3a or 3x, CS 1 or 1x, and a menu class are preferred in the first year but may be completed by the end of sophomore year. The PE requirement, additional introductory lab, scientific writing requirement, and 81 units of additional HSS courses (divided among humanities and social sciences as explained in the Catalog requirements) may be completed any time before graduation.
See also the description of core requirements hosted by the Admissions website.
Integrated Core
New in 2025-'26: Coming in the Fall of 2025 is the debut of the Integrated Core. This experimental alternative to the standard Core Curriculum described above will select a cohort of 24 students (about 10% of the incoming class) to take a coordinated set of classes that will teach most of the foundational material covered by the standard Core in an integrated way. Caltech Magazine released an informative story about the project recently. Please see the Integrated Core page for more information on the program, a FAQ, and instructions on how to apply for the Fall of '25.